


Holmes as an artist – a somewhat “decadent” profession

by Sherloki1854



Series: Johnlock in the original canon [19]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Johnlock - Freeform, M/M, Meta, TJLC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherloki1854/pseuds/Sherloki1854
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Art was not considered something “manly” (I still hope I am not offending anyone). We are deep into cliches now, but that is how it worked in the Victorian Era: “The Artist” was Oscar Wilde. A nice parallel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holmes as an artist – a somewhat “decadent” profession

A Study in Scarlet, 1881

_Like all other **arts** , the Science of Deduction [...] _

_My companion flushed up with pleasure at my words, and the earnest way in which I uttered them. I had already observed that he was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his **art** as any girl could be of her beauty._

No need to comment on the second quote.

 

The Valley of Fear, 1887

_[Holmes was] warmed by genuine admiration – the characteristic of the_ _**real artist** _ _[...]_

 

The Copper Beeches, 1890

 _To the man who loves_ _ **art**_ _for its own sake_ _[...]_ \- This could not sound more like Oscar Wilde if Watson consciously tried.

_If I claim full justice for **my art** [...]_

 

Thor Bridge, 1900

_I descended to breakfast prepared to find my companion in depressed spirits, for, **like all great artists** , he was easily impressed by his surroundings._

_I have been sluggish in mind and wanting in that mixture of imagination and reality which is the basis of **my art**._

 

Holmes was also an actor and very theatrical:

Holmes usually refuses to tell anyone - even Watson - of his current endeavours to capture a criminal when he is near the solution, and it is one of the few "defects" in Holmes' character Watson criticises in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1888), which makes his solutions even more dramatic.

Another feature that is linked with this are his acting skills. In A Scandal in Bohemia (1889), Watson remarks that _The stage lost a fine actor [...] when he became a specialist in crime_. Acting was not exactly a profession known for its good reputation, especially not for a member of the gentry like Holmes. Connected to this is that he is constantly seen and sees himself as an artist, as I already showed above.

Moreover, he is an active musician. One of the first things he mentions when he and Watson are first introduced in A Study in Scarlet (1881) is that he plays the violin. But of course he does not only play it: Watson states that Holmes has _a remarkable gift for improvisation_ in The Sign of Four (1888). Playing an instrument was still seen with indulgence, but composing was a different matter: it meant having the decadent spirit of the artist. Interestingly enough, another literary virtuoso of that time was Dorian Gray. Hello again, Oscar.

 


End file.
